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By FERNANDO DOMINGUEZ

Sept. 28, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

MALIBU

Coach Tim Ward of the Pepperdine women’s soccer team is no farmer, but he knows all that stuff about reaping what you sow.

During the off-season, Ward put the Waves on a demanding conditioning program, believing fitness and preparation would lead to victories.

So the Waves lifted weights and ran, pushing their bodies past the pain and exhaustion.

“It was a lot of hard work,” Ward said.

None of the Waves are whining about it after posting the best start in the program’s seven-year history.

The Waves (7-1-1) take a six-game winning streak into a nonconference game at San Diego State (3-7) today, one short of the school record set by the 1993 team.

But Ward, who is 25-16-6 in three seasons with the Waves and needs one more victory to become the program’s winningest coach, said this string is much more meaningful.

“I’m not taking anything away from that first year’s team,” Ward said. “The level of competition we’re playing now is pretty good.”

That means the caliber of Pepperdine players also is better. Ward, who played at Agoura High and Cal Lutheran, recruited several top players from the region who are contributing significantly to the team’s success.

“We like to focus on keeping the bulk of the local players and prevent them from going to schools out of state,” Ward said. “We know what they can do on their best days and what they can do on their worst days. We’ve seen these girls [play] a lot instead of a one-shot deal.”

Ward’s recruits from the region are sisters Stacia and Tasha Spangler from Westlake, defenders Julie Stuart from Agoura and Amy Johnson from Oak Park, and midfielders Carlie Stokes from Chaminade and April Blaker from Agoura by way of San Diego State.

Stuart’s sister, Mary, a defender who is sitting out the season at UCLA, is transferring to Pepperdine next year.

Ward said he is able to attract top players because the school continues to increase scholarship money for women’s soccer. The Waves have nine scholarships, three under the NCAA maximum and seven more than Pepperdine’s first team.

“Finally, we have some increased funding,” Ward said. “I think when we are fully funded, we’ll be able to compete among the top 25 [in the nation]. That’s our goal in two years.”

It could become a reality if Ward keeps landing players like the Spanglers.

The sisters, both midfielders, are providing scoring punch. Stacia, a fifth-year senior, has three goals and four assists. Tasha, a sophomore, has four goals and three assists. They are together for one final season, although Stacia considered not playing this year.

“I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs,” said Stacia, who recovered from a torn ACL in her freshman season. “I wanted to play with Tash. That’s one of the reasons I came back.”

Ward is glad she did.

“Every year she gets better and better,” Ward said. “She’s one of our team captains and has great leadership. She just does her job very, very well.”

Pepperdine features only three seniors and can certainly use Spangler’s experience, but the Waves are not short on poise or confidence.

“We are just playing awesome,” said Johnson, a junior. “It’s a good team atmosphere. It’s competitive [among the players] but not cut-throat. We are tying to make this team good, so we put our egos aside.”

Johnson is playing sporadically, but said the frustration of not getting more play is tempered by the team’s success, which would reach uncharted waters by winning its first West Coast Conference title.

The Waves start WCC play against San Diego on Oct. 6. Their best conference finish was second with a 5-2 record in 1996 under Ken Dale. They are 2-10 in WCC games the last two years. But this team, Ward said, can play with anyone.

“We have a lot of technical players, very skilled players,” Ward said. “Our girls are very intelligent soccer players. They do what they have to do to win.”

Ward said the Waves have versatility to handle whatever style of play is more suitable against an opponent. If speed is needed, the Waves have it. If marking hard and banging bodies is needed, the Waves can do that, too. But they try not to wander far off their game plan.

“Our theory is that we want to control the ball,” Ward said. “We want to dictate the tempo and rhythm of the game by our possession. If we have the ball, the other team can’t score.”

As simplistic as it sounds, it works. The Waves have allowed seven goals and posted five shutouts. Pepperdine has outshot opponents, 175-87.

The success, Stacia Spangler said, comes from the work ethic instilled by Ward.

“We don’t practice for a long time, but our practices are intense,” Spangler said. “It’s not about quantity, but quality.”